Review of The Opposite of Sex (1998) by Rebecca H — 04 Nov 2008

The Opposite Of Sex has a clever set up, lots of details, a postmodern unreliable narrator, an anti-hero lead, witty and acidic humour and excellent performances from the female leads Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow. It might offend you, but only if you don't have a sense of humour.

The plot is fundamentally simple and very well handled. Despicable teenager Dede (Ricci) moves in with her gay half brother Bill (Martin Donovan) and ruins his life. This film could so easily go wrong. It could miss wit and just be offensive, you could hate the characters, it could be too self aware and grate. Instead, it's brilliant. The only problem here is a miscast Lyle Lovett as Carl the sheriff, not bringing across any charm or likeability, which is presumably quite important to his character. He remains creepy. Otherwise, this extremely intelligent black comedy will have you gasping and laughing out loud.